Case study: Parenting network adds up for KPMG

KPMG offers its 10,200 staff a variety of childcare and flexible working options, including childcare vouchers and emergency childcare.

In 2009, the professional services firm formed the KPMG Parenting Network to offer information through a dedicated website, networking events, training seminars and an opportunity for parents to offer each other advice.

Gaynor Francis, diversity specialist at KPMG, says: “The Parenting Network offers seminars that cover things like building self-esteem with your children and managing work-life balance. For emergency childcare, we offer 15 days for all staff, with five days of that requested without the performance management leader’s approval. All employees are entitled to that free of charge.”

KPMG also has a range of flexible working options, including career breaks, job share, homeworking, unpaid leave and annualised days. The most popular choices are part-time working and unpaid leave, which is available at short notice.

Also popular is glide time, a non-contractual option that staff can take on an ad-hoc basis to vary their core working hours, starting between 8am and 10am and finishing between 4pm and 6pm. Sarah Bond, European head of diversity and employee engagement at KPMG, says: “Employees need different kinds of flexibility at different points in their lives to achieve their ambitions, and we offer flexible working options to help them achieve this.”